The Old High German name is recorded from the 8th century, in the variants Haimirich, Haimerich, Heimerich, Hemirih.[4]Harry, its English short form, was considered the "spoken form" of Henry in
medieval England. Most English kings named Henry were called Harry. The name became so popular in England that the phrase "
Tom, Dick, and Harry" began to be used to refer to men in general. The common English feminine forms of the name are
Harriet and
Henrietta. An Italian variant descended from the Old High German name,
Amerigo, was the source from which the continents of the
Americas were named.
It has been a consistently popular name in English-speaking countries for centuries. It was among the top 100 most popular names used for men born in the United States, England and Wales, and in Australia in 2007. It was the 46th most common name for boys and men in the United States in the 1990 census, and has ranked among the ten most popular names for American newborn boys in 2020.[5] Harry, its short form, was the fifth most popular name for boys in England and Wales in 2007 and among the top 50 names in Ireland, Scotland and Northern Ireland in recent years. Harry was ranked as the 578th most popular name in the United States in 2007.[6] It is also in
use as a surname.
Within
German,
Low German,
Frisian and
Dutch, numerous diminutives and abbreviated forms exist, including Low German, Dutch and Frisian Heike, Heiko; Dutch Hein, Heintje; German Heiner, Heinz.
The original diphthong was lost in Dutch Hendrik (hypocoristics Henk, Hennie, Rik), Scandinavian Henrik[8] (whence Henning).
Eastern European languages have developed native forms during the
medieval period under the influence of German and the Scandinavian languages, hence Polish Henryk, Czech Jindřich, Hynek, Hungarian, Slovene, Croatian Henrik, Finnish Henrikki (hypocoristic Heikki), and Lithuanian Henrikas or Herkus.
The Old French form Henri / Middle French Henry became popular in the British Isles, in Middle English adopted as Harry, Herry. Herry was adopted into Welsh as Perry, into Irish as Annraoi, Anraí, Einrí and into Scottish Gaelic as Eanraig, Eanruig.
In Southern Europe, variants without the initial H include Italian Arrigo, Enrico, Catalan / Occitan Enric and Spanish Enrique (whence Basque Endika) and Italian Enzo.
A separate variant, which may originate with the Old High German name Haimirich, but possibly conflated with the names Ermenrich (first element ermen "whole") or Amalric (first element amal "vigour, bravery") is
Emmerich. Emmerich is the origin of a separate suite of variant names used across Western and Central Europe, although these never rose to the ubiquity of the variants of Henry; they include English Emery, Amery, Emory, French Émeric / Aymeric, Hungarian Imre, Imrus, Slovak Imrich, Italian Amerigo and Iberian (Portuguese, Spanish, Galician) Américo, etc.
Feminine variants
Several variants of Heinrich have given rise to derived feminine given names.[year needed]
Low German Henrik, Hendrik gave rise to Henrike, Hendrike, Hendrikje, Hendrina, Henrika and others, Low German Heiko to Heike, Italian Enrico gave rise to Enrica, Spanish Enrique to Enriqueta, Enriquetta, Enriquette. French Henri gave rise to Henriette, Henrietta, further modified to Enrieta, Enrietta, English Harry to Harriet, Harriett, Harrietta, Harriette, hypocorisms Hattie, Hatty, Hettie, Etta, Ettie; various other hypocorisms include Hena, Henna, Henah, Heni, Henia, Henny, Henya, Henka, Dutch Jet, Jett, Jetta, Jette, Ina. In Polish Henryka, Henia, Heniusia, Henka, Henryczka, Henrysia, Rysia are attested.[citation needed] The hypocorisms Rika, Rike etc. may be from this or other names with the second element -ric. Spanish and Portuguese América from the Emmerich variant Amérigo .
Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, third son and fourth child of King George V and Queen Mary, served as Governor-General of Australia from 1945 to 1947
Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Duke of Bavaria, one of the principal commanders of the Second Crusade, Wendish Crusade, and Battle of Verchen
Religious figures
Henry Bretislaus, member of the Přemyslid dynasty, Bishop of Prague from 1182, then Duke of Bohemia as "Bretislaus III"
Henry Compton, Bishop of London during the Glorious Revolution
Henry Oldenburg, German theologian, diplomat, natural philosopher, and creator of scientific peer review, one of the foremost intelligencers of Europe of the seventeenth century
Henry Zdik, Bishop of Olomouc, one of the principal commanders of the Wendish Crusade
Henry Dandolo (1107–1205), 41st Doge of Venice, one of the principal commanders of the Fourth Crusade, Battle of Adrianople (1205), Sack of Constantinople, Siege of Constantinople (1203) and Byzantine–Venetian war of 1171
Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster (c. 1310–1361), member of the English royal family, diplomat, politician, and soldier, one of the principal commanders of the Hundred Years' War (1337–1360), Battle of Bergerac, Battle of Auberoche and Lancaster's chevauchée of 1346
Henry Light (1782/3–1870), Third governor of British Guiana
Henry Hotspur Percy, late-medieval English nobleman, one of the principal commanders of the Battle of Homildon Hill, Battle of Otterburn and Battle of Shrewsbury
Herbert Henry Asquith, Prime minister of Great Britain, one of the principal commanders of World War I
Henry Campbell-Bannerman, British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Henry Pelham, British Whig statesman, who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1743 until his death, one of the principal commanders of the War of the Austrian Succession and War of Jenkins' Ear
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, British statesman who served twice as Prime Minister in the mid-19th century, one of the principal commanders of the Crimean War
Henry A. Wallace, American politician, journalist, and farmer who served as the 33rd Vice President of the United States, the 11th United States Secretary of Agriculture and the 10th United States Secretary of Commerce
Henry Crerar, senior officer of the Canadian Army who became the country's "leading field commander" in World War II, where he commanded the First Canadian Army, one of the principal commanders of the
Battle of the Scheldt
Henry Tandey, English soldier, most highly decorated private of World War I who supposedly spared
Adolf Hitler's life during the war, recipient of the Victoria Cross for actions during the First World War
Sir
Henry Wells, a senior officer in the Australian Army, Chief of the General Staff from 1954 to 1958, one of the principal commanders of the
Malayan Emergency
Henry Wirz, Swiss-American officer of the Confederate States Army and a convicted war criminal, the commandant of the stockade of
Camp Sumter concentration camp
Henry Louis Gates Jr., American literary critic, professor, historian, filmmaker, and public intellectual who serves as the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University
^Van Den Reinaerde, Jacob Wijbrand Muller. p. 122 appendix. 'Ermerijc'.
^The contribution of Haimirich, Haimrich is more significant than that of the (rarer) Haginrich, Hainrich:
"In formen wie Hainrich u. s. w. fliessen die beiden namen Haimirich und Gaganrich anz in einander hinüber. Doch ist die erstere die hauptquelle unseres namens Heinrich. Von den beiden alten erklärungen desselben, = Hainreich und = daheim reich, kommt daher die zweite der wahrheit näher als die erste." E. Förstemann, Altdeutsches Namenbuch (1856),
593, cf.
"Heinrich", nordicnames.de.
^The spelling Heinrich dates to the 11th century, alongside numerous variants (Heimirich, Heimarih, Heimeric, Haimrich, Heimrich, Heimrih, Hemerich, Hemric, Hemrich, Hemmerich, Aimirich, Heinrich Hinrich, Henric, Henrih, Ainrich, Enerich, Enrich etc.). E. Förstemann, Altdeutsches Namenbuch (1856),
p. 591.
^Campbell, Mike.
"Henry". Behind the Name. Retrieved 2013-10-11.
^Campbell, Mike.
"Harry". Behind the Name. Retrieved 2013-10-11.
This page or section lists people that share the same
given name. If an
internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.
The Old High German name is recorded from the 8th century, in the variants Haimirich, Haimerich, Heimerich, Hemirih.[4]Harry, its English short form, was considered the "spoken form" of Henry in
medieval England. Most English kings named Henry were called Harry. The name became so popular in England that the phrase "
Tom, Dick, and Harry" began to be used to refer to men in general. The common English feminine forms of the name are
Harriet and
Henrietta. An Italian variant descended from the Old High German name,
Amerigo, was the source from which the continents of the
Americas were named.
It has been a consistently popular name in English-speaking countries for centuries. It was among the top 100 most popular names used for men born in the United States, England and Wales, and in Australia in 2007. It was the 46th most common name for boys and men in the United States in the 1990 census, and has ranked among the ten most popular names for American newborn boys in 2020.[5] Harry, its short form, was the fifth most popular name for boys in England and Wales in 2007 and among the top 50 names in Ireland, Scotland and Northern Ireland in recent years. Harry was ranked as the 578th most popular name in the United States in 2007.[6] It is also in
use as a surname.
Within
German,
Low German,
Frisian and
Dutch, numerous diminutives and abbreviated forms exist, including Low German, Dutch and Frisian Heike, Heiko; Dutch Hein, Heintje; German Heiner, Heinz.
The original diphthong was lost in Dutch Hendrik (hypocoristics Henk, Hennie, Rik), Scandinavian Henrik[8] (whence Henning).
Eastern European languages have developed native forms during the
medieval period under the influence of German and the Scandinavian languages, hence Polish Henryk, Czech Jindřich, Hynek, Hungarian, Slovene, Croatian Henrik, Finnish Henrikki (hypocoristic Heikki), and Lithuanian Henrikas or Herkus.
The Old French form Henri / Middle French Henry became popular in the British Isles, in Middle English adopted as Harry, Herry. Herry was adopted into Welsh as Perry, into Irish as Annraoi, Anraí, Einrí and into Scottish Gaelic as Eanraig, Eanruig.
In Southern Europe, variants without the initial H include Italian Arrigo, Enrico, Catalan / Occitan Enric and Spanish Enrique (whence Basque Endika) and Italian Enzo.
A separate variant, which may originate with the Old High German name Haimirich, but possibly conflated with the names Ermenrich (first element ermen "whole") or Amalric (first element amal "vigour, bravery") is
Emmerich. Emmerich is the origin of a separate suite of variant names used across Western and Central Europe, although these never rose to the ubiquity of the variants of Henry; they include English Emery, Amery, Emory, French Émeric / Aymeric, Hungarian Imre, Imrus, Slovak Imrich, Italian Amerigo and Iberian (Portuguese, Spanish, Galician) Américo, etc.
Feminine variants
Several variants of Heinrich have given rise to derived feminine given names.[year needed]
Low German Henrik, Hendrik gave rise to Henrike, Hendrike, Hendrikje, Hendrina, Henrika and others, Low German Heiko to Heike, Italian Enrico gave rise to Enrica, Spanish Enrique to Enriqueta, Enriquetta, Enriquette. French Henri gave rise to Henriette, Henrietta, further modified to Enrieta, Enrietta, English Harry to Harriet, Harriett, Harrietta, Harriette, hypocorisms Hattie, Hatty, Hettie, Etta, Ettie; various other hypocorisms include Hena, Henna, Henah, Heni, Henia, Henny, Henya, Henka, Dutch Jet, Jett, Jetta, Jette, Ina. In Polish Henryka, Henia, Heniusia, Henka, Henryczka, Henrysia, Rysia are attested.[citation needed] The hypocorisms Rika, Rike etc. may be from this or other names with the second element -ric. Spanish and Portuguese América from the Emmerich variant Amérigo .
Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, third son and fourth child of King George V and Queen Mary, served as Governor-General of Australia from 1945 to 1947
Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Duke of Bavaria, one of the principal commanders of the Second Crusade, Wendish Crusade, and Battle of Verchen
Religious figures
Henry Bretislaus, member of the Přemyslid dynasty, Bishop of Prague from 1182, then Duke of Bohemia as "Bretislaus III"
Henry Compton, Bishop of London during the Glorious Revolution
Henry Oldenburg, German theologian, diplomat, natural philosopher, and creator of scientific peer review, one of the foremost intelligencers of Europe of the seventeenth century
Henry Zdik, Bishop of Olomouc, one of the principal commanders of the Wendish Crusade
Henry Dandolo (1107–1205), 41st Doge of Venice, one of the principal commanders of the Fourth Crusade, Battle of Adrianople (1205), Sack of Constantinople, Siege of Constantinople (1203) and Byzantine–Venetian war of 1171
Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster (c. 1310–1361), member of the English royal family, diplomat, politician, and soldier, one of the principal commanders of the Hundred Years' War (1337–1360), Battle of Bergerac, Battle of Auberoche and Lancaster's chevauchée of 1346
Henry Light (1782/3–1870), Third governor of British Guiana
Henry Hotspur Percy, late-medieval English nobleman, one of the principal commanders of the Battle of Homildon Hill, Battle of Otterburn and Battle of Shrewsbury
Herbert Henry Asquith, Prime minister of Great Britain, one of the principal commanders of World War I
Henry Campbell-Bannerman, British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Henry Pelham, British Whig statesman, who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1743 until his death, one of the principal commanders of the War of the Austrian Succession and War of Jenkins' Ear
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, British statesman who served twice as Prime Minister in the mid-19th century, one of the principal commanders of the Crimean War
Henry A. Wallace, American politician, journalist, and farmer who served as the 33rd Vice President of the United States, the 11th United States Secretary of Agriculture and the 10th United States Secretary of Commerce
Henry Crerar, senior officer of the Canadian Army who became the country's "leading field commander" in World War II, where he commanded the First Canadian Army, one of the principal commanders of the
Battle of the Scheldt
Henry Tandey, English soldier, most highly decorated private of World War I who supposedly spared
Adolf Hitler's life during the war, recipient of the Victoria Cross for actions during the First World War
Sir
Henry Wells, a senior officer in the Australian Army, Chief of the General Staff from 1954 to 1958, one of the principal commanders of the
Malayan Emergency
Henry Wirz, Swiss-American officer of the Confederate States Army and a convicted war criminal, the commandant of the stockade of
Camp Sumter concentration camp
Henry Louis Gates Jr., American literary critic, professor, historian, filmmaker, and public intellectual who serves as the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University
^Van Den Reinaerde, Jacob Wijbrand Muller. p. 122 appendix. 'Ermerijc'.
^The contribution of Haimirich, Haimrich is more significant than that of the (rarer) Haginrich, Hainrich:
"In formen wie Hainrich u. s. w. fliessen die beiden namen Haimirich und Gaganrich anz in einander hinüber. Doch ist die erstere die hauptquelle unseres namens Heinrich. Von den beiden alten erklärungen desselben, = Hainreich und = daheim reich, kommt daher die zweite der wahrheit näher als die erste." E. Förstemann, Altdeutsches Namenbuch (1856),
593, cf.
"Heinrich", nordicnames.de.
^The spelling Heinrich dates to the 11th century, alongside numerous variants (Heimirich, Heimarih, Heimeric, Haimrich, Heimrich, Heimrih, Hemerich, Hemric, Hemrich, Hemmerich, Aimirich, Heinrich Hinrich, Henric, Henrih, Ainrich, Enerich, Enrich etc.). E. Förstemann, Altdeutsches Namenbuch (1856),
p. 591.
^Campbell, Mike.
"Henry". Behind the Name. Retrieved 2013-10-11.
^Campbell, Mike.
"Harry". Behind the Name. Retrieved 2013-10-11.
This page or section lists people that share the same
given name. If an
internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.